Photograph the Ugly Stuff by Mark L. Chaves

Mark L. Chaves Captures the Beauty of the Banal and Mundane in Southeast Asia

Stereotypical photographs taken of places like Bali, Singapore, or the Philippines show coconut trees, blue ocean waters, locals in native costume, or parties and cocktails by the pool. In a sense these types of photos have become the banal for me. This collection of photographs shows the irony and the spirit of what Eggleston did: “photograph the ugly stuff.”

For the past year, I’ve traveled around Bali, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines taking unstaged, objective photographs of what most locals and visitors alike would call “ugly,” “boring,” or “mundane.” I wish to submit a collection of photography taken during my travels using various 35mm cameras. Objective photography has been around for a long time and has a cult-like following in many western societies. However, in SE Asia, this view on life … this view on art, is novel yet nascent.